Re: < ...> Demos

["Larry J. Hernandez" <alundra@flash.net>]

Hi everyone,

I'm only referring to the sound of the original "cathy demos" 
that were available as coloured vinyl EPs Volumes 1-5 in this 
discussion.

Rolf.Peukert@Theoinf.TU-Ilmenau.DE (Rolf Peukert) wrote:

> Darrel Henry wrote:
> > Also, I'm still hoping someone out there can tell me about the 
> > Cathy Demos.

> This commonly refers to a set of 22 songs recorded (presumably) in 1976, 
> just Kate at a piano. Some of them are demos for songs we know from 
> "official" albums, some are new. For a comprehensive article about them
> see Wieland's "Phoenix" section in the GaffaWeb:
> http://www.gryphon.com/gaffa/phoenix/

Boy, what a job you guys are doing with the GaffaWeb. I just made 
a tape of the demos (from the EPs) for a close friend. (please 
don't ask for one, I really don't have time to do this right now)  

> These recordings weren't meant for public release. Nevertheless some
> bootleggers got hold of them, and today there are various "Home Demo" 
> bootlegs on LP and CD showing up on record fairs. Their sound quality
> is mediocre at best, most of the CDs were made from LPs made from EPs
> with some generations of tape inbetween.

"Mediocre" to one person is "quite adequate" to another, such as 
myself. (I once coveted a recording of "Scares Me Silly" dubbed 
from this guy's stereo speakers, over the phone line, transferred 
from a phone answering machine minicassette to a regular compact 
cassette, ending up on only one channel :-) Crazy? Heck no-we're 
talking about Kate here.  Unfortunately, this was before the 
devolution of "The Dreaming Plug." (marca registrada wherevera :-)

The sound quality of the CD releases does vary a bit. But, if you
want my definition of mediocre sound, put on the boot LP "A Bird 
In the Hand".  Now my friend, *that* is mediocre sound. :-) Your 
description of LPs from EPs with tape in between is interesting. 
The first two CDs you mention below sound like they may have went 
that route.  I think one is better, though... 

> I've heard so far:
> "Cathy's Home Demos" by a company named "Blue Moon Records", 
> "Kate Bush Home Demos" by "The Genuine Pig": contents and horrible sound
> are exactly the same,

You can hear the needle on the LP or EP (I guess LP, from EP :) 
on these two releases... 

> and "Alone at my piano" by "Ukinel", which
> doesn't have all the songs, but the sound quality is a bit better
> (no crackles just hiss).

The first two CDs are adequate sound, IMO. The Blue Moon CD 
(BMCD-008) is the one to look for.  I have both those CDs, and 
it sounds to me like the "Genuine Pig" CD is a taped copy of the Blue 
Moon one.  The Blue Moon CD sounds a tad better to my ear. Besides, 
the Blue Moon packaging is definitely better than the 'Pig release.   
You get 12 different colour pictures from various stages of Kate's 
career.  If I'm not mistaken, the slide-out booklet pictures are 
circa _the red shoes_ period (are the front and rear pictures 
actually stills from _The Line, The Cross, the Curve_?). The cover 
photo is one of my favorites of Kate. What is the source of the 
centerfold picture? It definitely does not look staged. I've always 
wondered about these things... :) 

The "Swinging," I mean "Genuine Pig" CD is sparce in comparison, 
and all in black and white except the cover picture. I don't 
have the "Alone at My Piano" release, but hey, at $20-$25 US 
minimum, even if I could, I'd probably have to pass it up at this 
time. Your description of hiss and "less" songs on this makes me 
think the source is from the "Fiddle" tape,or a copy of the "fiddle" 
tape. If they don't fade out after some songs, then it probably is. 
The magic of hearing the "hissy" tape is that you can hear more of 
the clicking on and off of the tape recorder Kate used, you hear 
more footsteps and rustling of pages. One person once posted that 
he heard birds in the background. That man, a former jackhammer 
operator, was recently arrested for trying to erect a billboard 
near London.  ;-)  

(I never heard them birds, but what a nice thought, anyway) 

However:  The BEST source for these precious songs remains the 
coloured vinyl releases, now virtually impossible to find (only 
600 of each were pressed).  The sound of the EPs is relatively 
pristine. I could never figure out why the bootleggers chose to 
release "Before the Fall" (Organic Acid) under the banner "cathy 
demos."  But mine is not to question bootleggers' intentions, only 
the interesting names they gave the songs. :-)  
 
> Since they're bootlegs anyway, I think nobody would object if you ask
> for someone making copies for you on the newsgroup.

Hee hee... Yeah. If you consider Kate to be "nobody." :^) It's a 
gray area to me. I feel for Kate's privacy, but at the same time, 
these songs are so precious, that as a big fan, I feel even more 
enriched to have had a chance to hear them. Others, I know, who have 
posted their feelings on this matter would just as soon burn all 
Kate bootlegs in a big bonfire. 

> (If nobody (from your country) replies, send me an email)

> bye,
> Rolf

Bye, Rolf. TWIMC, what was the basis of the decision to put the 
lyrics to the demos into GaffaWeb in 'alphabetical' order according 
to the guesses at the song titles as opposed to listing them in the 
order they were first presented on the various tapes or the EPs?  
I'm just curious.  

Larry (alundra@flash.net) "Oh, I prefer absence," said she. "My 
                            heart grows fonder alone." - KT